Application sent

I sent my application to the college in Nottingham this afternoon. They should receive it tomorrow, but I don't know when I will get a response. What I do know is that, should my application receive an initial acceptance, I am to expect another interview soon.

For now, I just have to wait, although in my waiting I have been making preparations for an eventual move to the Nottingham area in September.

Jokes on paper

Here are some more interesting objects that are stashed away in one of my tins of small belongings. These are jokes that came out of some Christmas crackers:

Unlike most of the jokes I've posted here, I cannot claim credit for any of these. I don't know who originally thought these jokes up and I can't remember why I kept them. At any rate, they are funny!

If anyone requests a higher resolution version of this image, I will be happy to send it to them.

"Calling All Hearts" - DJ Cassidy featuring Jessie J and Robin Thicke

This song has been performing well on the charts here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZy5E6ILvEA

It's "Calling All Hearts" by DJ Cassidy featuring Jessie J and Robin Thicke. DJ Cassidy has been active on the music scene for several years: he was discovered by Sean Combs a few years ago and two of his notable works as a disc jockey were at Beyoncé and Jay-Z's wedding in 2008 and President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009.

It's unfortunate that Thicke's comeback last year was with "Blurred Lines" rather than this song. "Calling All Hearts" is a vastly superior piece of music to "Blurred Lines" and doesn't come with any of the latter's controversy. While the music video features dancing women, they are not being exploited like in the "Blurred Lines" video and dancing men are present, too. As Jessie J is featured both on the track and in the video, I hope that she would had to have given her approval for any of the content.

"Calling All Hearts" is a fantastic debut single from DJ Cassidy: it features Jessie J and Robin Thicke singing at their best and it brings DJ Cassidy into the public eyes of pop music. I hope to hear more from him in the future.

Still talking about this?

On a campaign stop during the 2008 United States presidential election, then-Senator Barack Obama stated that he'd been to 57 states and that he had one left to visit. Looking at this video, he most likely meant to say "47 states" and was referring to the contiguous 48; the "50" likely originated in his speech because most Americans are used to talking about the "50 states", which caused him to say "57". Not a big deal, right?

To the vast majority of people, no, it's not a big deal: politicians make errors in speech all the time. At the end of the day, they are human and humans frequently make slips of the tongue. Bizarrely, while it's been six years since Obama made the error, I still see it be cited in some Internet commenters. Usually, it's by brought up by someone who is spouting nonsensical talking points about Obama or is losing an argument about him and has decided to fall back upon something irrelevant as to disrupt their opponent's train of thought.

Why does anyone care (or, for that matter, still remember) some verbal error Obama made during his first presidential campaign? How is it relevant now that he's serving his second term as president? If someone is an Obama critic and their main criticism of him is about a gaffe he made before he was elected, then they're implying that he's been an excellent president.

Why is that the case? Because by focusing on some silly mistake he made during his first campaign, they are giving the impression that this one error is more serious than anything he's ever done as president. I'm a long-term Obama supporter but there are some actions he's taken as president with which I disagree; if supporters of Obama can agree that there are legitimate reasons to criticize him, then anyone whose strongest rationale against him is a minor and irrelevant pre-presidential misspeak is an ineffective critic. I've read and heard countless criticisms of Obama that I consider nonsensical and irrelevant, but this is by far one of the stupidest.

The continued citing of the 57 states gaffe is one of the reasons why I rarely read Internet comments now (besides, of course, the time wasted in reading them). While I have observed it be used less frequently in recent months, this can be attributed to my cutback of reading comments.

Cherry blossom litter

Part of our back yard is covered in litter. Recent strong winds have blown loads of small pieces into one of our yard's corners. I am, of course, talking about how cherry blossoms now litter the ground:

I can appreciate this type of litter: it's completely natural. While I prefer it when the blossom is on the tree, it has to come down eventually. I like how the blossom has settled around a couple of broken branches - likely from the cherry tree - poking out from the ground.

How awful

This is despicable:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27163855

What sort of sick and twisted individual does something like this? I have always hated it when humans harm humans, but it takes a deeply repugnant person to abuse and murder animals.

Cruelty towards/killing animals doesn't carry the same sentencing that hurting or killing a fellow human does, but honestly, it should do: this person is a danger to society. It's not uncommon for murderers to start off by harming animals and then progressing to hurting humans.

The article mentions that it's unclear if the cats were feral or domestic. I don't think it matters either way: those cats did not deserve to be slaughtered and hung up. I hope the perpetrator is found soon.

Politician list follow-up

As a quick follow-up to the post I wrote yesterday about naming current U.S. Senators, this afternoon my mother and I did two political memory tests: naming British Members of Parliament and American House Representatives. Between us, we managed to name around fifty (out of 650) of the former and around thirty (out of 435) of the latter. U.S. Senators are far more memorable than both!

Perhaps I'll do U.S. governors for my next list. There are only fifty of them but most people are unlikely to know more than five. I'll wait until these lists aren't fresh on my mind before I attempt it, though.

For the record, yesterday's post was intended as a bit of fun; it certainly wasn't a subtle attempt at broadcasting my knowledge of current U.S. politicians in a boastful manner, nor was it a way to "win" against other people! I just find things like this fascinating, that's all.

Naming current U.S. Senators

Two years ago, I wrote a piece about naming United States Supreme Court cases and a piece about naming U.S. state nicknames. I've now come up with a new challenge: naming current U.S. Senators.

I was able to name the following seventy-two Senators; if you wish to participate in the challenge, I would recommend thinking of Senators before looking at my list. The Senators I couldn't name are listed separately:

1. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee)

2. Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire)

3. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin)

4. Mark Begich (D-Alaska)

5. Michael Bennett (D-Colorado)

6. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri)

7. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey)

8. John Boozman (R-Arkansas)

9. Barbara Boxer (D-California)

10. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)

11. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington)

12. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland)

13. Tom Carper (D-Delaware)

14. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania)

15. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia)

16. Dan Coats (R-Indiana)

17. Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi)

18. Susan Collins (R-Maine)

19. Chris Coons (D-Delaware)

20. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee)

21. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

22. Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana)

23. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)

24. Dianne Feinstein (D-California)

25. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona)

26. Al Franken (D-Minnesota)

27. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) 

28. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)

29. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)

30. Kay Hagan (D-North Carolina)

31. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)

32. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)

33. Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota)

34. Dean Heller (R-Nevada)

35. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico)

36. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii)

37. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma)

38. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota)

39. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin)

40. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)

41. Angus King (I-Maine)

42. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois)

43. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) 

44. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)

45. Carl Levin (D-Michigan)

46. John McCain (R-Arizona)

47. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri)

48. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)

49. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey)

50. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon)

51. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland)

52. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

53. Patty Murray (D-Washington)

54. Bill Nelson (D-Florida)

55. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky)

56. Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas)

57. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)

58. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) 

59. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas)

60. Marco Rubio (R-Florida)

61. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire)

62. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

63. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) 

64. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina)

65. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)

66. Jon Tester (D-Montana)

67. Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania)

68. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico)

69. David Vitter (R-Louisiana)

70. John Walsh (D-Montana)

71. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island)

72. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

I had to look up/ask my brother for the remaining twenty-eight Senators:

1. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming)

2. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut)

3. Richard Burr (R-North Carolina)

4. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma)

5. John Cornyn (R-Texas)

6. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)

7. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) 

8. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) 

9. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota)

10. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia)

11. Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska)

12. Mike Lee (R-Utah)

13. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia)

14. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia)

15. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts)

16. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) 

17. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) 

18. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)

19. Jim Risch (R-Idaho)

20. Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia)

21. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)

22. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)

23. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama)

24. John Thune (R-South Dakota)

25. Mark Udall (D-Colorado)

26. Mark Warner (D-Virginia)

27. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts)

28. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi)

Being able to name 72% of the Senators is a high percentage, although I facepalmed when my brother told me that I'd forgotten Elizabeth Warren. How many Senators can you name?

Nearly finished

It's been two days since Easter and I have nearly finished all of my candy. As such, this is the most amount of Easter goodies I've ever eaten in a short space of time. Ah, well. Not that it matters, for overall I do eat fewer desserts than my blog might otherwise indicate.

That being said, while I've gone through them quickly this year I haven't been completely greedy. I've shared quite a few of my chocolates - especially my two large chocolate eggs - with other people. Also, from what I've heard elsewhere, quite a few people seem to eat all of their chocolates on Easter itself; if I'd done that with my treats, I'd have been sick.

I've been neglecting my walks for this past week; I need to start doing them again!

"Brave" - Sara Bareilles

This song has been out for almost a year now, but British radio stations (well, Heart, at least) only started playing it a couple of months or so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQsqBqxoR4

It's "Brave" by Sara Bareilles and it's the lead single from her fourth studio album, The Blessed Unrest. The song is about being not afraid to speak up/out and Bareilles has stated that she was inspired to write it after witnessing the hard time a close friend of hers had when coming out.

There was some controversy when Katy Perry's "Roar" came out in the summer of last year, as Perry was criticized for copying Bareilles. However, Bareilles was upset by the criticism Perry received: she stated that she and Perry are friends, that she knew about the existence of "Roar" before its release and that she didn't like how a negative spin was being placed upon two songs that were about spreading positivity.

I was impressed by Bareilles' reaction to the controversy. It's further evidence that she is a wonderful and positive human being. It's also amazing to think that her debut single, "Love Song", came out almost seven years ago (released in 2007, popular in 2008).

Easter 2014

Happy Easter! I hope that everyone has enjoyed their day. Compared to the rest of the week, this has been a good day for me: my cold is coming to an end and something I thought might be a hurdle in the way of my college goal turned out to not be a problem at all.

Here is a picture of the chocolates I received today; the Maltesers, however, are something that I bought when I purchased eggs for other people:

This was taken using the low light setting on my phone; there is no flash present. What do you think of the image quality?

Oh, and the Mars chocolate I received here is not the same one that I bought nearly a month ago.

Cherry and magnolia

This afternoon, I took some pictures of the cherry and magnolia flowers in our back yard. The flowers are past their best but are still worth photographing:

I had to take a picture of the cherry and magnolia flowers together; this is a post about both of them, after all. I'm pleased with how the close-up of the magnolia flower turned out...not at all blurry!

These three pictures were taken with my phone.

The cold continues

I am still sick with the cold I wrote about three days ago. I no longer have the sore throat, but I've been experiencing nose troubles and painful coughs. I have been fortunate that I haven't had much to do this week other than some research.

As I keep telling myself, though, I'm glad that I've been sick this week rather than last: it would have been awful to have had this cold while at my interview or at any other time during my recent stay with my grandparents.

On an unrelated note, in the past half an hour my brother and I spent several minutes evicting an enormous fly from the house. In the past week, flies have become extremely common around the neighbourhood but all of them - except for this one - have been normal-sized flies. This one was huge! While I had a glass ready to use to catch it, my brother was able to guide it out of an open window.

Women and big phones

In a few written and video reviews for large phones that I've read/watched, some reviewers have said that larger devices (usually those with a 4.5 inch screen or bigger) are unsuitable for women due to women having smaller hands than men. While my father, my Hong Kong uncle (he has a Sony Xperia Z Ultra, which is huge!) and I all have phones with a 4.8 inch screen or bigger, in my personal observations, I've noticed far more women with big phones than men with said devices.

Both here in Northamptonshire and in Nottingham, for example, the only people I've seen carry phones from the Galaxy Note series, known as "phablets", have been women; I think I might have seen one man with one, but I wasn't (and am still not) sure. For all the other large phones that are available, I've observed far more women than men carrying them. It should be noted that many women carry bags, so big phones can be stored in those when the need arises. By contrast, men usually only have pockets; a large phone in a jeans pocket would make walking uncomfortable.

Again, these are my observations only; what I've noticed to be true in Northamptonshire and Nottingham might not be the same elsewhere, but regardless, I think the belief that women can't handle large phones is nothing more than sexist nonsense. Phone size comes down to personal preference, not gender: my East of England uncle and my grandfather - who are obviously men - have both stated that large phones are too big for them, and neither of them has small hands. At the same time, one of my female cousins has said that she loves big phones.

Talking over the end

It baffles me that, to this day, radio presenters often talk over the beginning and the end of a song. Dad said that in the old days this was done to stop people from tape recording off the radio, but honestly, who records off the radio now? It's not exactly difficult to buy music - either digitally or physically - or to play it on YouTube, so why bother recording? Recording is both needless and a hassle, not to mention the sound quality is low.

It wouldn't be quite so bad if presenters mentioned the name of the song and/or its artist, but they often don't. Usually they talk about some irrelevant topic and waffle on about it for a minute or so. Talking over the beginning or end of a song is an outdated practice and should be retired; there's no need for it now.

Cold after returning

Prior to travelling to Nottingham to pick me up last Sunday, my family caught a cold. At first they thought that their symptoms (such as Dad's excess sneezing) were due to allergies; however, since I have started sneezing and have a sore throat allergies can be ruled out, as I don't get major allergic reactions.

Dad is relieved it's a cold, for he said that he'd have a terrible summer if for its duration he were to sneeze several times a day; at least this cold will be over soon. He started showing signs of improvement yesterday, which bodes well for the rest of us.

Still, if I'd known I'd catch a cold, I'd have stayed in Nottingham for another week!

Post-trip unpacking

If there's one thing I dislike about a trip, it's having to unpack my belongings once I've returned home. Packing items to take away is easy, but when you return you have to remember where all those belongings went - and that's after going through the mess in one's travelling bag. Clothing isn't difficult to put away again, as they go in the wardrobe; rather, it's the little items that are annoying.

Untangling my phone charger from my earbuds is a hassle, as is having to untangle all my other cables from each other (such as the one for my Kindle). Then there's finding all the toiletries, which usually get buried within everything else, even when I put them in bags. I try to pack everything neatly (well, sort of) yet it all becomes a jumbled mess.

All being said, I did have a good trip, so I can't complain too much about unpacking. That's why this is a short post!

Back at home April 2014

My nine-day visit to Nottingham ended this afternoon and I'm now back in Northamptonshire. My parents came in the morning to collect me but we remained at my grandparents' house for several hours before we left.

After the events of the past few days, I now have some important choices to make. I'll be sure to write about them when the time comes.

Another campus

My Nottingham aunt and cousins took me out this afternoon. We went to the centre of Nottingham and took a walk past the campus I would be attending should I apply for a course and be accepted by the college. This campus would be ideal given how easy it is to get to via a bus.

The last day of this visit to Nottingham was a pleasant one. I'll be returning to Northamptonshire tomorrow.

"Walking on Sunshine" - Aly & AJ

After some chats with various relatives today and with some more chats expected tomorrow, I'm in a pretty good mood at the moment. To celebrate, here is a positive song, "Walking on Sunshine" by Aly & AJ:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gC8wZqnmdo

Aly & AJ's "Walking on Sunshine" is a cover of the original song by Katrina and the Waves, which the latter released in 1985. Aly & AJ released their version in 2005 and it is from their debut studio album. I like both versions, as they're uplifting and full of energy.

The college interview

Today's interview at the college exceeded my expectations. The progression advisor I spoke to was an incredibly helpful lady; not only did she interview me and give me plenty of advice, but she also put me on a brief assessment course, which was a surprise. This assessment allowed the college to give some insight into my level of knowledge in English and Maths, and therefore helped my advisor to find suitable courses for me. She found two consecutive 1-year courses, which would qualify me for university once they're complete.

I have not yet applied for any course, though. I am discussing the matter with my family and will make a decision in the coming weeks. Until more developments occur, this is all I'll be writing about on this topic for now, although I can say that today was an excellent start to my return to education. We'll see what happens.

Tomorrow

My college interview takes place tomorrow morning. I have mentioned to other people and written here on my blog that I do not feel nervous about it; that still holds true. The only nerves I have felt occurred this afternoon when I was catching a bus, but that was irrelevant to the interview.

I had a pleasant afternoon with one of my cousins this afternoon; the discussions I had with her have given me an additional boost of confidence, which I would not have had I not met up with her today.

I eagerly await the interview.

Chocolate orange hot cross buns

As somewhat of a follow-up to my post about chocolate icing on hot cross buns, my grandmother bought these at the store today:

Chocolate orange hot cross buns! They're from Morrisons, a major grocery company here in the United Kingdom. Here is one on its own:

Regular hot cross buns are tasty enough on their own, but this variety with chocolate orange are even more delicious. I'm glad my grandmother noticed these in the store - and so is she!

Pie and chips

One of my early posts was to write about pie and chips, a lesser-known British food. To this day, I think that pie and chips is tastier than fish and chips. I had it for dinner tonight:

This is also the first post I've submitted via phone, as the Internet has gone out and I have had to resort to using my mobile data. It's far easier to write and post via the computer! I am fortunate that I added the picture before the main Internet went offline.

The tennis match and the boat race

Today was a quieter day than yesterday. I spent the morning with my grandmother watching a tennis match. The tennis match in question was a Davis Cup quarter-final match between Andy Murray of the United Kingdom and Fabio Fognini of Italy. Fognini defeated Murray in straight sets, which wasn't surprising; Murray had been ill earlier this week and was exhausted due to a doubles match from yesterday, and Fognini is as an excellent player on a clay court, on which this game was played. While Murray was beaten handily, it was still a pleasant match to watch.

In the evening, my grandmother and I watched the 2014 boat race between the university cities of Cambridge and Oxford. The two cities hold an annual boat race between their respective universities. Oxford were victorious in 2014's race, defeating Cambridge in a landslide (or a waterslide?).

I don't follow sports but if I'm at my grandparents' house, it's a quiet day and my grandmother is watching sports, I'll watch them with her, especially if it's tennis.

Trent from a hill

My grandfather and I went for a bit of a hike this afternoon, going for a walk up a nearby hill. I took this picture:

The river over to the left is the Trent and the areas surrounding it are mostly farmland, although there are some paths and woodlands down by the banks. Prior to today, I had not been up this particular hill, but I had walked on one of the paths near the river itself.

Nottingham visit April 2014

I'm up in Nottingham at my grandparents' house and will be here until a week on Sunday (13th April). Unlike past long visits here, this is not intended as a vacation only, although I will be meeting up with other relatives during my stay. That's correct, I'm here for another reason.

This coming Thursday, I am scheduled for an interview at one of the colleges around here. I am looking to attend a college in Nottingham and this interview will be the first step towards that. I have everything ready for the interview and until then I have plenty of time to rest and think.

I look forward to the interview. I don't feel nervous about it at all, as it's potentially a highly beneficial event, although it is possible that nerves could kick in the closer the interview approaches.

Heavy-footed birds

For the entire morning and some of the afternoon, I heard birds scrabbling on the part of the roof above my room. Their noises were loud and seemingly non-stop! It was as though the birds were having a tap-dancing party or a scratch-a-thon above me. My brother went out after lunch and noted three types of birds making the noise:

1. Sparrows. The sparrows were looking in the gutters for food. They either had plenty of insects to eat and were having a feast or were turning over every leaf in order to find some.

2. Starlings. The starlings were intent on building a nest on the roof. Our house does not have any sort of bird infestation, as it's quite common for birds to build nests on house roofs and they do not usually build them within the roofs. They'll make their nests, have their babies and fly off.

3. Pigeons. The pigeons were busy...ahem...making more pigeons. The pigeons are completely carefree when they do this; it doesn't seem to matter to them if someone is watching or listening (no, I wasn't watching and I wasn't trying to listen specifically to them, either! Same for my brother when he went out to see what the noise was.).

What is most astounding is that all three types of bird chose today to engage in various activities above my room. It's hard to say which group was the loudest!

"Hold On" - Wilson Phillips

This is another one of the many song I was introduced to via Heart radio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbXvaE39wM

It's "Hold On" by the band Wilson Phillips; it was released in 1990 and is from their self-titled debut album. "Hold On" is a positive song and it always improves my mood whenever I listen to it.

There are various interpretations of "Hold On", according to some people (comments after the lyrics). Some thought it was about getting out of an abusive relationship while others considered to be about battling drug abuse. I thought the song was merely a generalized message about not giving up while simultaneously not letting others put you down, which, of course, can still cover the aforementioned interpretations plus any others mentioned in the second link.

How do you interpret "Hold on"? Regardless of what way one views the song, it's an awesome track and I love listening to it.

Bloggers Blog Party - March 2014

These are my images from March 2014 for the Secret Life of Bloggers Blog Party. March was an excellent month for photography!

Saturday, 1st March:

Picture #1: Dad and I went to the car wash in the afternoon. Those green bubbles are soap, not something disgusting smeared all over a random window.

Picture #2: Half an hour or so after Dad and I returned from the car wash, this one-man hot air balloon flew over our house. The pilot was low enough to see Dad's wave and returned it.

Saturday, 8th March: This is a hyacinth that was growing in a pot in our back yard, heralding in the beginning of spring.

Tuesday, 11th March: My brother spotted this pigeon that was perched in our front yard's conifer. At first we thought it was defending a nest but it's more likely the pigeon was simply perching here to rest or to watch for other pigeons: since this picture was taken, we've only seen the pigeon perched in the conifer once.

This is the same conifer that was once claimed by a bee swarm.

Thursday, 20th March: When in the local park I noticed this piece of garbage on the ground. It's extremely disappointing that some people still litter. It's not as though there is a shortage of facilities where garbage can be deposited!

Friday, 28th March: I accidentally exploded a lump of butter in the microwave when my brother and I were doing some baking; there was a mess but my brother cleaned it up (he wanted to clean it, I wasn't being lazy!) and our microwave is fine. This is the second time we've blown something up in a microwave; years ago we somehow destroyed some popcorn.

Monday, 31st March: I cut the grass in our front and back yards. I was going to cut it later this week, but the weather appeared as though it were about to rain and I thought it best to cut the grass while it was dry; it sprinkled a tiny bit, but there was otherwise no rain.